Door latch



pril 27, 1948. w. s. sHAFER DOOR LATCH Filed Nov. 14, 1944 R, WL, mE N TCI l M @AWT NH T 1S .A fw

Patented Ap 27, `1948 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This inventionv relates in general to 'closures such as refrigerator doors, doors of closets and` the like and latches or catches therefor.

One object of the invention is to provide a door latch which shall embody novel and improved features of construction such that the operating part thereof may belocated substantially flush with the surface of the door or other structure upon which the latch is mounted and can be easily actuated to release the latch by simple pressure applied for example by the finger, foot or an object such as a pole held in the hand of the operator, whereby the necessity for and disadvantages of a handle, lever, or knob projecting from the face of the door shall be eliminated.

Another object is to provide such a latch which shall includea novel and improved construction and combination of a latch bolt or lever pivotally mounted to revolve about a fixed point and an operating member also pivotally movable about a fixed pivot for applying :pressure to said bolt or latch lever to actuate the latter into doorreleasing position.

A further object is to provide a novel and improved combination of such a latch with a door such that the latch bolt and a mounting therefor can be mounted on one side e. g. the rear, of the door and the operating element may be exposed and accessible through a hole in the opposite side, e. g. front, of the door.

Other objects are to provide a latch of the character described which shall embody a novel and improved simple, inexpensive and reliable construction and combination of a latch bolt,

an operating member therefor and spring for actuating the latch bolt into latching position, and means for mounting said parts on a door; and to obtain other advantages and results that will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary iront elevational view of a door and latch combination embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary rear elevational View of the construction shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Figure 2, showing the latch in latched position. l

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the latch bolt in its released position to permit opening of the door.

Figure 5 is a top ,plan view of a modified form of my latch showing it applied to a door which is partially illustrated in horizontal section.

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of the construction shown in Figure 5, and

Figure 'I is a similar view of another modification of the invention.

Specifically describing the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the reference character A represents a door which is hingedly connected at one edge as indicated at B to the wall C or doorirame at one side of a door opening. The opposite edge of the door is adapted to abut the door frame or wall at the opposite side of the door opening. Preferably a helical spring D is provided for normally influencing the vdoor into open position.

Mounted on the back side or rear of the door A is a latch mechanism which includes a casing I having one side open and in which a latch bolt or lever 2 is pivotally mounted as indicated at 3 at one end of said open side to cooperate with a keeper plate 4 on the edge of the door fra me or wall against which the swinging edge of the door abuts. As shown, the latch bolt 2 has a curved nose 5 to cooperate with the keeper 4, and at the other side of the latch bolt is ailug 6 which is normally engaged by one arm 1 of a U-shaped spring 8 which is enclosed within the casing and whose other arm is connected to the arm 1 by a loop portion and abuts the wall of the casing I opposite the rear side of the door, said spring normally influencing the latch bolt into latching position as shown in Figure 3.

The side of the lug 6 opposite the arm 1 of the spring A is frictionally engaged by one end of an operating plate 9, the other end of which is pivotally connected at I0 to the casing I at the end of said open side opposite said latch bolt and adjacent the loop portion of said spring. Movement of the latch 'bolt 2 into latching position is limited by engagement of the lug 6 with the operating plate 9, and movement of the operating plate 9 under influence of the spring 8 is limited by abutment of extensions II on the operating plate 9 with laterally extending feet I2 on the casing.

The door A has an opening I3 therethrough and the latch mechanism is applied to the rear side of the door with the operating plate 9 exposed through the opening I3 and preferably completely overlying and closing said opening when the latch is in latching position. The latch casing may be secured to the door in any suitable manner, but as shown, the casing has in addition to the feet I2 another foot I4, and fastening members such as screws or rivets I6` are inserted'through these feet and into the door. With this constructionv and arrangement of the parts it will be seen that the operating plate 9 normally is approximately flush with the front surface of the door,

and if desired, a finger plate I'l of substantially 3 the door and the opening I3 will be substantially filled and closed by said finger plate.

As shown in Figure 5 where the latch is to be applied to a thick door E, to reduce the bulk and Weight of the linger plate, a thin plate may be secured to the operating plate 9 by elongated bolts 2li which open the thickness ot the door. Oi course, if desired, wood or other illling material might be interposed between the nger plate I8 and the operating plate 9 so as to substantially fill the opening 2l in the door.

In connection with large doors it may be desirable to utilize two or more oi.' the latch mechanisms and where this is done as shown in Figure 7, the several latch mechanisms generally designated F will be secured to the door in the desired relation and the operating plates of the several mechanisms may be connected by a finger plate 2l -which may be secured in any suitable manner to the operating plates as by rivets 22 or f bolts such as the bolts 20. With such a construction, pressure upon the iinger plate 2| will simultaneously operate all of the latch mechanisms.

From the foregoing it will be understood that when vthe door is swung into closed position, the latch bolt 2 will slide over the keeper 4 which will momentarily push the bolt against the influence of the spring 8 until the nose 5 o1 the bolt passes the keeper 4 whereupon the spring 8 will snap the bolt into latching position as shown in Figure 3. When it is desired to open the door the operator will press his nger or any handy implement against the operating plate or the linger plate as the case may be as shown in Figure 4, whereupon the latch bolt 2 will be swung about its pivot and disengaged from the keeper 4. The pressure will then be relaxed to permit the spring D to swing the door into open position as indicated by dot and dash lines in Figure 4.

If desired, a spring 23 may be mounted at the edge of the door opening adjacent the keeper d to engage the swinging edge of the door when the latter is closed, and normally tend to actuate the door into open position. As shown, the spring 23 is formed integrally with the keeper ld and has two spaced arms 24 that project into the door opening so as to be engaged and energized by the door when the latter is pushed into its closed position.

While it is not essential, it is desirable that the lug 6 on the latch bolt have a curved surface as shown to contact with the straight or ilat end kportion of the operating plate 9 so that the operating member will engage the lug 6 tangentially throughout the entire range of movement of the latch bolt. If desired, the operating member 9 might have a surface curved reverselyto that of the curve of the lug 6 so that the engagement of the operating plate with the lug would simulate the action of two contacting teeth of intermeshing gears. Such constructions provide for easy and smooth operation of the latch bolt throughout its movement from latching to unlatched position and reduce friction between the lug and the operating plate to theminimum.

While I have shown and described my invention as embodied in certain detalls of construction, it should be understood that this is primarily for illustrating the principles of the invention and that many modifications and changes may be made in the details oi construction within the spirit and scope oi the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A latch including a casing that is open at one side. a latch bolt pivoted therein on a iixed pivot at one end of said open side, an operating member pivotally connected at one end to said casing at the other end op' said open side and extending across and substantially closing said open side so as to be exposed for application of pressure, there being an operative connection between the swinging end of said operating member and said latch bolt for swinging the latter in onedirection upon application of pressure in one direction to said operating member, and a spring for normally inuencing said bolt and said operating member in the opposite direction,

said latch bolt having a lug normally disposed adjacent said open side of said casing and said operating member including a substantially straight lever disposed in substantially the planeof said open side of the casing and pivoted at one end to the casing with its swinging end underlying said lug on said bolt.

2. The latch as dened in claim 1, wherein the surface of said lug on the latch bolt that is engaged by said operating member is convexly curved so that said operating member will engage said convex surface tangentially throughout the entire range of movement of said -latch bolt.

3. A latch including a casing, a latch bolt pivoted therein on a ixed pivot, an operating member arranged in spaced relation to one wall of said casing and hingedly connected at one end to said casing and operatively engaging said latch bolt so that upon application of pressure on said operating member said latch bolt will be actuated into unlatching position, and a U-shaped spring within said casing and having its loop portion adjacent said pivot with one arm engaging said latch bolt and the other arm abutting said Wall of said casing for normally influencing said latch bolt into latching position.

WALTER S. SHAFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Switzerland May 1, 1942 

